River Of Life Flows

In the history of Chinese contemporary literature, Shen Congwen, who has descripted water the most, may be regarded as the author who has the deepest understanding of water. It can be found through his works about western Hunan that he seldom uses water directly as the object of discription. In his literary production, he usually chooses the objects of discription such as the life lived on the riber banks or besides the water. Therefore, although it is not the direct object of discription in these works, water easily becomes the origin and trigger point of his inspiration. In Shen Congwen's works, water usually appears as the background in which the story takes place and the characters take actions. Most of these works about western Hunan are backgrounded in green mountains and blue water, which not only makes the work present the fresh gentle style and the characters and the nature harmorious, but also provide the practical credible cultural inside story for character's disposition and the life special characteristic's mold. Further more, water has close connection with the development of the story and the characteristics and fate of the characters. The characteristics of all the characters, no matter the gentle, tranquil, pure refined village girls, or the hard-working, brave, optimistic boatmen and sailors, are all like the water. The structure of Shen Congwen's work is also affected by water. Many of his works narrates naturally and the free organization shows the greatness of aesthetic judgment. This kind of natural capriciousness covered the author to need to narrate thinks of the sentiment remotely, which makes the structure already melted imperceptibly. Moreover, his language and style are also influenced by water. The loneliness of his literary ideal makes his work has a strong emotion of melancholy, which manifests his sentiment about the future worry of the nationality. Shen Congwen is good at expressing the primitive beauty by using natural, simple, pure, and water-like language. Water has already permeated the literary production of Shen Congwen, and his works have the shadow, the sense, and the soul of water.The fact that Shen Congwen has written water and things about water so much is close related to his life experience. His is almost always with the company of water: He was is his hometown where there Tojing River lies from his birth to 14; He entered the army after 14 and stayed around Yuanshui valley for five to six years, when he was always on the bridge, the ferry spot, the wharf, the steamboat, and the river street. This experience enables Shen Congwen have a wide and profound understanding of the scenery and custom of western Hunan. He left western Hunan and came to cities in early 1920s until middle 1940s, and water was always with him, no matte Wusongkou, Changjing, Qingdao seashore, or Dianchi. Shen Congwen is fortunate. Though the years water influenced not only the life but also the literary production of him.Water in Shen Congwen's writing is not the material again but a mark which presents multiple, rich philosophy culture connotation. It is not a kind of feeling object or writing material but a subjective form, a kind of symbol of nature, and a kind of metaphor of life. Water, as the most typical image in Shen Congwen's works, is combined with life, the core thing of his work. With the help of water, Shen Congwen attempts is understanding clearly the life the embodiment. At the same time, he pours his unique life experience into this to unfolds his understanding of the human nature, the history, and the culture. Shen Congwen read water by his heart, and water brings up Shen Congwen.